Wow Connie! You have some setup going, that's impressive. I'll comment on the ones I know about. I grew Vintage Visalia in the mtns but it never got taller than 4 feet up there with a 3 month growing season and the deer kept eating on it. It was the only large rose I had that last the 13 years were there, through all the snows I did no winter protection either. I've seen the rose bush at the nursery, it's huge, it stands about 8' tall or so. I don't care what HMF says, when I went down there to get another for this house and saw how large that rose gets I decided I wouldn't have the room for that one after all, LOL* Sequoia Ballet is another I wanted to get and was dissuaded from doing so last spring as a new rose. It had a great growing season even with our weeks of 100's and the rose bush they grow the cuttings off of is gorgeous and easily 5'tall and it was still immature. I got one in Oct after the manager admitted then it's a terrific rose, she was very impressed by how vigorously it grew even in the heat. In two months of growth this rose ended Dec 17"Tx19"Wide. Thanks To Sue is slow growing for me, I had it in a bad place the first fall and it was one of the last I transplanted last spring. I have it in full sun now and in cooler weather the roses are more an apricot and hotter weather they're yellow. It has unusual growing shape and leaves and as the plant matures then it holds the blooms up better. The foliage is very pretty on this rose. I ended the first full year with the rose at 18"Tx40"Wide. I was looking to replace two roses in front of my dining room in back of my other minis and I love the Hybrid Bracteatas, I asked and the manager reaffirmed that Precious Dream and Out Of The Night will both be excellent roses. The latter had 4 fat buds that tried blooming end of Dec but it was just too cold by then and the roses aren't very nice looking. Tells me though this will be another of my roses that should go all the way through on milder years. These should be in the neighborhood of between 2 and 3' tall depending on your season. I planted them also in Oct. Not a whole lot of info but a little more for you. Leslie

I have a long board fence in front of my house which matches my horse fencing. I have let it weather rather than painting it and it looks fine. The fence is a good distance from the house. I have roses, both climbing and shrub, along the fence. Since no painting is involved, the only maintenance other than the roses is keeping the grass from growing along the fenceline - the roses are well mulched, still working on mulching under the fence. I have all colors - pale, bright, pinks, yellows, apricots. Makes a beautiful show when blooming. All colors look good on the fence. I would definitely opt for the vinyl fence. If I had to paint around some of these roses [Prairie Princes, Chuckles and New Dawn come to mind] I would be scratched to pieces, not to mention the daunting task of pulling the canes back. Ken quoted one of my favorite sayings - work smart, not hard. Enough hard work to do even if you do work smart around my place! There are many kinds of fences, surf the web and look around - I particularly like the old fashioned loop wire, hard to find, but lovely. I would rather spend more time with the roses than painting a fence - which will need to be done fairly frequently, especially white. I have a horse farm - at another farm, we had all white painted fences. I swore when I moved I would not make that mistake again, since I don't have swarms of helpers. Even if you do put pale colors on a white fence, you can have colorful annuals or clematis at their feet to liven up the color. So many possibilities!! Have fun! Judith

Mrsjunque, the hollyhocks died back to ground level (as they are supposed to), and came back again when the weather warmed up this spring. They aren't as tall as last year, but still looking pretty good. Did you give yours enough time to come up again? Jelly, the Joey is a new plant for me, and I'm not sure whether it will self-sow or not. I'm going to have to get back to you on that one, but I will be collecting some seeds myself, if possible. (In case it needs a little help.) If it doesn't come back, I would still buy it again. It adds such a nice look to the bed. I love it. Potter is very successful in his lizard hunting. TOO successful. I'm always trying to rescue them, but he is FAST and deadly. He cornered my black racer the other day, too, and was moving in for the kill, but the snake struck at him, and he jumped back yelping. But before I could reach them, he was heading back with every intention of killing it, but it slipped through the fence and got away, thankfully. I would REALLY have been mad at him if he killed my snake! I'm glad you like where I ended up putting the totem, Karalynn. It is just so pretty out there, with the sun sparkling on it. It makes me smile every time I see it. Laura, I love dachsies so much it isn't funny! They have really wormed their way into my heart, and as exasperated as I get with them at times, they are still making me laugh every day. Thanks, Katkin & Flowerlady. I'm so glad you like the beds. I still have so many areas untouched, but I'm glad to be getting some good bloom and color back in some areas, anyway. Felix, Maks is quite happy he got the tail!! (Apparently there was only one to go around amongst the BROWN dachsies in that litter!) Thanks, Linda. Glad you see the glimpse of paradise in my little retreat! Thanks! Marcia

Wow, Jackie - that's exactly the sort of pairing of clematis I was picturing in my gardens, particularly the Graham Thomas and purple clematis. That combination is to die for, and the rose and clematis are happily (and gorgeously) supporting each other. I can only dream of Graham Thomas getting that big and lush in my zone, even though Austins typically like my climate. Mine has never cleared 3 feet tall in 4 years, and even wimpy clematis like Nelly Moser would mow him down in a minute. It's good to hear the contrast of clematis being borderline in places like CA (not that I would wish it on you, but it's good to know). I thought tulips and once-blooming OGRs were the only flowers that didn't like California. Who woulda thunk it? Although frankly, your clematis look very happy just not thuggish. Harry, that is a terrific shot of the evolution of clematis-rose detente, and jaw-dropping wonderful clematis to boot. I hope Betty Corning was given new life in another spot, since she is breathtaking in her lush profusion. Ditto for Westerland, since I can only dream of my Westerland looking that terrific in the spot I have it. I'm glad to see you label Venosa Violacea, since I'm pretty sure that's the clematis I have creeping up on my hammock, but it barely reaches 6-8 feet so far and doesn't have that amazing explosion of color yet. Clearly it needs more sun and territory to conquer - I love the white star effect in the center. Beautiful pictures and fun observations everyone! Cynthia